“The Saturdays' workshops format during a 5-month period with a very practical approach is perfect for someone, who cannot yet commit to a classic MBA program, but intends to stay relevant in the market and positioned for new career challenges."

Due to a busy schedule, IME’s Mini MBA was the perfect match for Senior Project management member at Industrial Projects Division of TOTAL Oil & Gas, Nuno Lago De Carvalho. With a degree in engineering as well as other courses and programs related to the industry, Nuno decided it was time to gain a wider understanding of business- and management related theories. Nuno started his Mini MBA in August 2018 and has recently finished all the classes. While focusing on a final assignment, we had a short chat with him.

Why did you decide to enroll in an educational program such as the Mini MBA?

The main reasons were to develop my business management knowledge and simultaneously to support my leadership skills. I have a background in engineering and after several years mainly involved in engineering and project management positions in the Oil & Gas business and have therefore only been exposed to courses dedicated to the industry. Because of this, I have decided to join the Mini MBA executive course from IME, to provide me a wider view of business and industries. In addition, compared to other similar educational programs in Singapore the IME program was offering the most robust and complete program as well as being compatible with my time constraints, due to my current assignment and nature of my project. The Saturdays’ workshops format during a 5-month period with a very practical approach is perfect for someone like me. If you are not able yet to commit to a classic MBA program, due to professional reasons, but intend to stay relevant in the market and positioned for new career challenges, this Mini MBA is a solid alternative.

What has been your favourite module?

I think that Business Strategy was a particular interesting module, full of insights from different companies and industries, which has strongly developed my strategic thinking approach to turn strategic ideas into actions.

What has been the most challenging module?

That has to be Finance & Accounting. Most of the theories and case studies were quite new for me. Despite proving to be a challenging module, a lot of new concepts and knowledge has been acquired.

How does the Mini MBA course reflect in your current work – have you been able to implement some of the models/tools from the course in your daily habits?

The influence of the Mini MBA is everywhere in my daily work and even personal life. In a short period of time, I have strongly developed my critical thinking and the approach to problem-solving and decision-making. This has been achieved by implementing many of the best practices, tools and outputs from case studies into my working habits, that I have learned over the past months, through different modules, such as Human Resources, Process Management and Change Management.

What is your final assignment about?

My final assignment will be about Change Management. When working with "mega projects", I am quite exposed to a lot of changes and I would like to dig into the theories, tools and best practices of Change Management.

How did the course fit in your daily schedule in terms of work life balance?

The course takes a very practical approach, combining intensive modules and a self-study process ahead of each lecture. Therefore, I would say that it is easy to fit into a busy schedule.